Side Effect Design

Lots of people join the gym to get in shape. Lots of people fail to do so.

Why?

Because fitness requires consistency. Multiple times a week, month after month. If getting fit is the only reason for going and the results aren’t coming fast enough, then quitting early becomes likely.

Now suppose instead of joining a gym for exercise, someone chooses to play in a tennis league because he enjoys the sport. With all the scheduled games and the practices, he stays active for a whole season.

There was no hardship to stick with tennis for the long haul, because he was having fun. Getting fit was the happy byproduct.

Sometimes the reason why we want to do something isn’t motivating enough to put in the required effort. In those cases, we may be better off having the desired result be the side effect of an activity driven by a powerful incentive.

Increase your odds of success through smarter design.